Chương 18: CH18 - Imperio!
The attack of the dementors on Hogwarts miraculously did not yield in any casualties. Although there were some near misses, no one present at the game received the 'kiss,' and only a few students required professional medical support from St. Mungo's Hospital. These special cases hadn't received any injuries from the dementors themselves, but rather from falling out of the stands in an attempt to escape.
All in all, a stroke of luck. The incident was undoubtedly a horrible one, but it did result in several positive outcomes.
For one, the number of dementors surveilling Hogwarts was reduced significantly once more, even less in quantity than at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, Fudge had landed himself in a world of political trouble. His comments only a week prior regarding the safety of dementors were now coming back to haunt him. The man had managed to hold onto his position, but only barely so. His star was waning, and it was obvious to everyone that he would not be re-elected when the time came.
For Edmund personally, the harrowing ordeal had brought him closer to his friends, the shared trauma binding them even more to one another. That was not to speak of his success with the Patronus charm, a spell that had eluded him for over two months.
'I probably shouldn't have done it in front of Cecilia though,' Edmund thought with a wince.
The girl had clearly needed the emotional aid he had provided, but her reaction to the Patronus when she woke up had been extreme, to say the least. Even a week after the fact, he caught her looking at him constantly, as if trying to solve a puzzle.
'Ahh, who cares. I trust her. Besides, it was worth it,' he comforted himself, summoning his Patronus once more, taking the time to look it over.
With the dementors now further back from Hogwarts, he would have to be careful in case he encountered them during his expeditions into the Forbidden Forest. Edmund may have become capable of casting the repelling spell when he was alone, but it would be much more challenging while under the dementor's effects.
'The cloak should still keep me safe enough,' he thought, pulling it over his body as he prepared to leave the dorms once more.
Edmund had travelled to the hidden clearing four times already, testing the most efficient and safe route, noting the hazards along the way. Tonight, however, he was going to head in a different direction, more unfamiliar to him. From the brief glance he had gotten at it from the distance, this section of the forest was more dominated by plant life. The foliage in the area was thicker, obscuring his already limited view further. Edmund would have to stay on guard, as sneaking up on him would be incredibly easy in such an environment.
Delicately pushing branches out of the way, Edmund looked this way and that, recognizing some of the plants from "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," a book he had needed to practically memorize.
Edmund was currently circumnavigating around a large hollow infested with a devil's snare. The plant was inactive at the moment, but its large vines, capable of detection through contact, were sprawled throughout the trees, hidden beneath leaves and bushes.
He made sure to plant his feet cautiously, unwilling to become the plant's next victim. Escaping its grasp may have been easy, but summoning fire of that magnitude in the middle of the night would be akin to sending a beacon into the air signalling Edmund's location.
Finally convinced he was outside of the snare's range, Edmund's eyes looked up from his feet around him, startled by a bright blue glow coming from up ahead.
His wand in front of him, he slowly walked past the oak obstructing his vision.
A large tree sat before him, with hundreds of branches originating from a singular, massive trunk with the girth of a giant. Each of the branches in turn held tens of glowing blue flowers, sparkling invitingly. Close to the ground near the middle of the tree, a singular golden fruit had sprouted, its scent intoxicatingly sweet.
As Edmund watched, the petals occasionally closed up before opening again, releasing a puff of spores onto the ground. With the tree swaying lazily in the wind, the scene looked like one from heaven, but Edmund knew better than that.
From the bushes on the opposite side of him, a niffler barrelled out, running towards the shiny fruit. As soon as it came into contact with the spores on the ground, it began to slow, its movements becoming jerkier. Mindlessly, however, it continued onwards, uncaring for its own fate.
When it reached twenty feet away from the trunk, a deep rumbling began to emanate from the ground. A massive thorny appendage shot out from the dirt, attempting to impale the small creature. With a tiny hop, the niffler dodged the attack, apparently having anticipated it.
With each step it took, another strike came for it.
Eventually, the niffler's luck ran out, and the thorns pursuing it pierced its body all the way through.
The creature's blood dripped to the ground, being absorbed immediately, greedily. The blue flowers glowed a hint more brightly for a few seconds before dimming back to their previous level of luminescence. The vine that had pierced the niffler brought it all the way to the trunk, where a gaping hole opened with a loud groan, devouring the creature whole.
Quickly, the tree returned to its original peaceful appearance, ready to lure in its next prey.
If Edmund hadn't already read "Flesh-Eating Trees of the World," perhaps he too would have been fooled by its once again docile nature. In reality, the tree was sentient, and it was vicious, ever-hungry for more bodies to devour.
With its paralysis-causing spores, the fruit of nectar, and fully functional thorns, Edmund clearly identified it as Hesperides' tree. Unlike the tree from Greek mythology it was named after, this magical plant's fruit did not provide immortality, or any benefit for the consumer. Its sole purpose was to attract those foolish enough to fall for its look and scent.
Not long after the tree settled down, another niffler ran into the trap, following the same dance as its predecessor. It was succeeded by another of its kind, and then yet another.
By now, Edmund was frowning. No matter how prone nifflers were to giving in to their desires for shiny objects, it didn't mean that the creatures had no sense of self-preservation. Something else was afoot.
Giving Hesperides' tree a wide berth, Edmund circled around to the point of origin of the nifflers, following the path they were emerging from.
Eventually he came across a kneeling figure, clad in black and yellow robes with the Hufflepuff insignia on their breast pocket.
A Hogwarts student.
From a small pouch on their waist, the student pulled out another niffler, protesting and attempting to free itself from its captor.
"Imperio," the now identified woman said, immediately ceasing the creature's resistance.
Her voice, along with her red hair gave away her identity. Even before she could stand up and turn around, Edmund knew who it was.
'Elspeth MacGillony,' he thought, a shudder going down his spine. 'I should have guessed as soon as I saw the yellow robes.'
Elspeth's eyes followed the creature she was controlling remotely, watching its progress carefully.
'She's practicing,' Edmund realized. 'She's learning how to exert more fine control over her victims. It's just a game to her.'
He had to find out more. Creeping closer, he pointed his wand toward her, ensuring his aim was right.
"Petrificus Totalus," he whispered, the spell shooting out and impacting the girl in the back. Just in time as well, as she had begun to whirl around to confront the intruder.
"Smart," Edmund murmured consideringly as he tied Elspeth up to a tree with an incarcerous spell. 'She had eavesdropping charms set up around the perimeter to alert her.'
He had gotten lucky to be able to ambush her. If the girl was capable of an imperius curse, there was no telling what other magic she had delved into.
'That's why you don't fight fair,' he chuckled to himself.
He put up a few silencing charms around the area, unsure of how Elspeth would react. With a simple Finite, he unfroze the girl, but she still remained motionless. Only her eyes signified her consciousness, as she glared at his outline undeterred by her position.
"Smart and brave," Edmund said, deepening his voice to mask his identity. "I wonder why you're in Hufflepuff."
"Cut the shit," Elspeth replied, completely ignoring him. "What do you want?"
"The obvious, of course. I want to know what you're doing, and why you're doing it," he demanded calmly.
"And what if I don't tell you? What are you going to do? Kill me? Torture me?" she asked, looking intently at his head even though Edmund knew she could not see him.
"Or do you have the perversions that the purebloods have when a mudblood is tied up and at their mercy?" she spat, anger colouring her voice for the first time.
Edmund shifted, almost imperceptibly, but Elspeth still caught it.
"Hmmm. So I'm safe in that regard at least. Not a pervert, probably not a pureblood or a boy. Or maybe you're just young and shy. If I'm lucky, you might not even be cruel at all," Elspeth deduced quickly.
"Again, smart and brave," Edmund said, a bit more strained.
The girl was clever, and she knew it.
"I guess it doesn't matter," she decided in the end. "My fate is in your hands either way."
"What were you doing?" Edmund asked again, hoping she would finally answer.
"You already know I assume. I was practicing," she admitted.
"The imperius is such a useful curse. You cast it, and you're completely in control. It doesn't matter what the other person wants, or what they think. All that matters is who's in control," Elspeth said, her voice becoming chillingly longing.
"When I discovered the imperius, I was just another poor mudblood. Stepped upon, mistreated, destined to be another one of the peasant working class for the luxury of the elite. But with it, I could become anything I wanted, do anything I wanted," she said bitterly before her tone lifted once more.
"I tested on a niffler first. I knew they would be easier to control, easier to manipulate. I wanted to use them to steal from the purebloods, the ones who mocked and bullied me. They wouldn't notice the missing money, and if they did, it would be a drop in the ocean for them. For me, it could change my life," she tried to justify.
"So I did it. I drained them all, sickles and knuts slowly adding up to hundreds of galleons. I finally had what I deserved," she said with a dark smile on her face. "But then I thought, why bother with the nifflers at all. Why bother with the middleman, so to speak. I wanted to punish them. I wanted them to feel pain. What's the point of hitting them where they don't even feel it," she said maniacally, shaking erratically.
"But I wasn't strong enough," she complained. "I had the power to take control of them, but not the mental strength to direct them the way I could with the nifflers. They acted stiffly, like puppets on a string. If I was going to go through with my plan, I was going to do it right," she declared, sneering.
"I needed more practice, and Hesperides' tree offered me a golden opportunity. Or it would have been, if not for you," Elspeth accused.
Her harsh pants filled the otherwise silent air, as Edmund mulled over what to do with her.
'She's crazy,' Edmund thought to himself, 'but not completely evil. Overuse of dark magic has clearly had a toll on her, but not nearly as much as it should have. She's obviously a genius, but even then, she should be showing a lot more signs of insanity,' he contemplated perplexedly.
'Unless...' he realized excitedly.
"I won't report you for your use of the imperius," he offered as she narrowed her eyes at him with distrust, "...if you train me in occlumency and legilimency."
Elspeth's eyes widened, before she tried to hide her surprise with her neutral face once more.
But it was too late.
"I will not give you another offer," he promised gravely. "You will teach me what I want to know. After every session, I will obliviate you of any memories you have gained of me. If you try to cross me, cheat me, expose me, or harm me in any way, I will feed you to the tree the way you have been feeding these nifflers," he said coldly.
"I suppose you'll be putting all this down in a magical contract?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Correct," he replied.
"Well then, I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she asked, barely suppressing her fury.
"Correct again," he said, this time sticking out his hand for her to take.
She shook it angrily, muttering out her reply.
"I accept your terms."
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